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Friday, June 20, 2008

Self-Imposed Isolation Vs. Disease Imposed Isolation: Is There A Difference?

It’s nice that some people in my life are telling me up front that they won’t be disappointed in me if I don’t take part in an activity. It’s really nice to be let off the hook for a change!

However, when is saying “no” a bad thing? At what point does saying “no” no longer become a function of your illness, but your illness becomes a convenient excuse for saying “no”.

And at what point do people get tired of hearing you say “no” that they give up on you completely?

It’s funny because when there was self-imposed isolation, I didn’t mind it that much. For instance, I’ve never been a big drinker, and before, when I heard about people going out, it didn’t really bother me, I wasn’t into it. But now, I hear people talk about it, and I feel left out. I know that I couldn’t physically handle it most of the time, but I’m 22 years old. There’s a certain expectation of the kind of life I’m supposed to be living. And I’m definitely not doing that. I don’t even mean drinking, but going out, in general. Lately I’m asleep on the couch when people would start going out.

I never had a problem handling peer pressure before, but now that it could have a negative impact on my health, I’m having a hard time resisting. What kind of sense does that make?

Is it possible to be young and chronically ill and have a social life?

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